DENR closes PIPS, Puntod

Islet from human activity

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Sept 6 (PIA)—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has indefinitely closed the unique and bio-diverse seas within the protected area, from human activities except for gleaning and boat passage towards Balicasag Island, in the Panglao Island Protected Seascapes (PIPS), effective September 9, 2024.

The closure of the PIPS came about after deliberations by the environment agency and its Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) considering also the recommendation of the governor, in a meeting Friday, even as Governor Erico Aristotle has also recommended for the closure of the protected area to unregulated human activity which has led to massive coral destruction in the area.

Although without the DENR Regional Director present, the meeting had Mayors Edgardo Arcay (Panglao) and Roman Bullen (Dauis), people’s organizations officers, government and tourism stakeholders.

Last week, videos of snorkeling swimmers and their local guide reveling at their names getting written in table corals; a blatant abomination of the environment, surfaced, to the ire of Boholanos who know the critical roles the corals play.

The unregulated human activity in the snorkeling site near the Virgin island, in Pungtod and in Gak-ang, has shown the different degrees of destruction of corals and the damage of the reef areas caused by human touch, accidental breaking off of the corals by snorklers using long fins or getting trampled by them or by boatmen who drop their anchors anywhere in the shallows.

Exempted however from the order are the fishcage operators of Danao United Fisherman’s Association (DUFA), which has its fish cage in the area.

Last week, following the viral post of corals getting ruined by a group of snorkelers, Gov Aumentado issued an alert asking for information about the identity of the snorkeling guide and the boatman who were bringing in the guests that led to the coral damage.

Not two days later, with a reward money reaching P200K, the local police in Panglao reported of the surrender of the snorkeling guide, and the impending meeting of the PAMB, to take up management details of the protected area.

PIPS as well as the biodiversity of the seas off Panglao and all over Bohol have been among the reasons why the UNESCO enrolled Bohol into the global system of geoparks.

Another important addition to the unique tourism come-ons of Bohol, the geopark designation however operates on the sustainable practices implemented by communities for the perpetuation of the resource.

To this, Bohol Provincial Tourism Office (BPTO) also issued advisory to all dive shop operators, dive guided and snorkeling guides to own up the responsibility of protecting corals and the zero tolerance for coral damage and vandalism.

As stewards of our precious marine resources, it is our collective responsibility to ensure the protection and preservation of the coral reefs that are vital to the biodiversity and sustainability of our marine environment, the advisory stated.

We are reminding all dive shops, operators and snorkeling guides of the critical importance of orienting both divers and dive guides to strictly adhere to absolute no-touch policy on corals and marine life, and zero tolerance for vandalism.

“Corals are sensitive and can be easily damaged by human contact, leading to long-term harm or death of the organism,” the BPTO said.

On the other hand, the office reminded everyone that defacing or vandalizing corals is a violation of the environmental laws of the Philippines like section 96 of the Philippine Fisheries Code, section 20 of the expanded National Integrated Protected Areas Systems Act (RA 11038) as well as Section 33 of the Panglao Environment Code.

The BPTO also reminded dive and marine activities stakeholders to implement mandatory orientations in the form of pre-dive briefings emphasizing of the importance of protecting coral reefs, while dive masters must actively monitor divers and intervene at the first sign of non-compliance.

While the BPTO calls on dive guides to lead by example and demonstrate proper behavior underwater, it also directs them to ensure that all divers and snorkelers under their care are aware of the diving protocols and environmental guidelines.

Finally, as the direct agents of environmental protection, dive stakeholders own the prime responsibility of reporting any observed violation to relevant authorities.

Maintaining the integrity of our reefs is a shared responsibility and timely reporting can prevent further damage, the authorities stressed in the advisory. (PIABohol)

CLOSURE TO ALLOW REGENERATION. Bohol Gov Erico Aristotle Aumentado has earlier recommended for the closure of Virgin Island snorkeling site, place cordoning buoys to make the limits, and allow the DENR to install mooring buoys so that future visiting boats would just have to tie their boats on the buoys than drop anchors and ruin the reef in the process. (PIABOhol)

Until reforms can be implemented

Gov Aris recommends

Virgin island closure

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Sept 4 (PIA)—Already learning a hard lesson when he got suspended without any direct participation in the buildings within the Chocolate Hills protected area, Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado is now covering every possible base which can get him another trouble.

This time, as Chairman of the Panglao Island Protected Seascapes (PIPS), if given the blanket authority to decide, Aumentado said he would ban human activities (specifically snorkeling) and dropping of anchors within the fragile PIPS coral reefs and seagrass beds.

“Allowing human activity inside a protected area where the government has to physical capability to oversee, is another suspension waiting to happen,” according to the governor, in a recent interview.

In fact, another suspension is the least of the governor’s concern.

Legislated as a protected area under the expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act or (Republic Act 11038) which expanded the initial list of protected areas (Republic Act 7586) in the country and provided for their management, PIPS comprises 24.62 square kilometers of coasts, seagrass beds declared habitat for migratory Chinese egrets, with pristine coral reef areas, mangroves patches, all the reason for an observed high density of marine biodiversity.

While PIPS comprises of only a small portion of the whole of the seascapes in Panglao island which is Bohol’s premier tourism island, its protection, as per eNIPAS Act is managed by a local Protected Area Management Board: a multi sectoral and inter-agency policy-making body which is tasked to implement protection and management activities, under the supervision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“Virgin island, considering it as part of the protected seascapes, is under the DENR, while Panglao Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) implements supervision and monitoring of the seascapes off the PIPS,” explained Rojeine Sedillo, MENRO Panglao officer in charge.

According to Sedillo, the office oversees 21 dive sites, 3 snorkel areas and 110 dive shops and centers sending tourists into these municipal government controlled sites.

Virgin island, which is part of the PIPS is beyond the Panglao MENRO sphere.

Already locally considered as a strict protection zone considering its high biodiversity value, PIPS is supposedly closed to all human activity, except for scientific studies and ceremonial or religious use by indigenous cultural communities.

Based on the information surfacing during the meeting with the governor’s reef assessment team, Monday, the DENR, which monitors and oversees the activities within the protected area, admitted that they have collected environmental access fees for those entering the protected areas.

However, while the DENR also conducts inspection and accompanies groups entering the protected area, there are only two divers assigned here to check that every group acts in accordance with the sustainable resource practices.

Between August 27 to August 29, the DENR said 97 boats got into the area, according to the DENR, which issues access receipts to tourists.

“We have divers who check on the activities, but we can not get to all of them,” Teofilo Gamil Jr., PIPS coordinator assigned in Panglao, admitted.

While the DENR divers were with other groups, some snorkelers anchored at the Estaca snorkeling site off Virgin Island were documented destroying table corals by writing names on them.

According to dive instructor and environment advocate Danilo Menorias, some inch-thick markings, letters measuring two to three feet long were written across a table coral some 12 meters wide.

The intrusion also caused the corals to break off.

Menorias, who was among the reef inspection team also reported that without any anchoring buoy in Virgin island, boat men simply drop anchors anywhere, breaking corals and plowing across sandy substrate.

Infuriated by this, Gov. Aumentado said he would recommend the closure of Virgin Island, until the DENR can resolve the unsustainable practices happening within the PIPS.

During the meeting, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Jose Cleo Colis said the DENR would meet with the PIPS PAMB within the week, to talk on the recommendations and reforms that need to be implemented at the PIPS. (RAHC/PIA_7/Bohol)

PROTECTED AND YET WITH ACCESS. DENR Bohol PENRO Jose Cleo Colis said the DENR has a team of green divers who can ably mentor divers of the sustainable dive practices, even as he admitted that there have been a rise in human activity inside the PIPS in the recent months. (PIABohol)

Guv issues EO 34 containing

dengue outbreak in Bohol

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Sept 4 (PIA)—With dengue affecting mostly 5-10 and 10-15 ages bracket, schools are now empowered to mobilize activities for the conduct of search and destroy mosquito breeding sites.

Data from the local health disease monitoring unit said dengue cases in Bohol are mostly in 5-10 and 10-15 age brackets: school children.

This as Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado issued Executive Order No 34, series of 2024, declaring dengue outbreak in the province of Bohol, on the same day the Provincial Anti-Dengue Task Force (PDTF) convened and recommended for the governor to declare the outbreak.

That same day too, Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit of the Provincial Health Office (PESU-PHO) showed that Bohol has recorded 5,839 dengue cases since January, and has recorded 14 deaths by the same viral disease.

This has surpassed the dengue epidemic threshold for the last 6 consecutive weeks, according to the governor.

In the Department of Health Department Memorandum No 2023-103, dated March 7, 2023, DOH Officer in Charge Dr. Maria Rosario Vergiere, in the reiteration of guidelines on the declaration of outbreaks for Local Government Units said that the provinces have mandates to declare outbreaks after considering the necessary data like case trends of the LGU in the last 5 years, inclusive of hospitalization, disease severity and mortality trends.

The capacity to declare would also have to be based on results of epidemiological laboratory investigation of cases and the capacity of the local health care system and public health interventions in response to the disease.

As to the PESU, Tagbilaran City has had 3 deaths, Getafe had 3 deaths, Inabanga had 2, Clarin, Dauis, President Carlos P Garcia, San Miguel, Alburquerque, Ubay and Anda each had one case for a sum of 14.

Moreover, the PESU data showed at least 17 towns in Bohol breaching their dengue epidemic thresholds in the last 4-6 consecutive weeks.

These include Anda, Alicia, Baclayon, Balilihan, Candijay, Dauis, Garcia Hernandez, Getafe, Inabanga, Mabini, Maribojoc, San Isidro, Sikatuna, Tagbilaran City, Talibon, Trinidad, and Tubigon.

Dengue in 2024 soared to be the second highest count of cases noted in Bohol in the last 9 years.

It was in 2019, when Bohol had 7,387 dengue cases and 44 recorded deaths.

In fact, 2018 was the worst year in Bohol when for the 5,249 cases, 54 died of dengue.

With the data from the PESU, the PDTF immediately recommended for the governor to declare an outbreak.

These have influenced Bohol’s faring in the last five-year dengue epidemic threshold, which shows that as early as the 27th morbidity week or mid-July, Bohol’s dengue cases started to straddle the threshold, nearing the 150 cases per week.

This then continued its up-climb until morbidity week 33, when Bohol recorded nearly 700 cases for the week.

This week however, showed promising signs, points out Provincial Health Officer Dr Cesar Tomas Lopez, during the meeting.

After an alert which the governor sounded in the second week of August, Boholanos mobilized for the search and destroy mosquito breeding places, and activated the Aksyon Barangay KOntra Dengue, resulting in the noted start of the downtrends in affectation.

There are signs that the cases are already going down, but declaring the outbreak would officially empower LGUS to strictly implement local legislation on the implementation of the 4S strategy, reactivation of the ABKD, which would help sustain our efforts, Dr. Lopez added.

The declaration also allows LGUS to mobilize households, schools and communities in the conduct of search and destroy mosquito breeding areas, allow RHUs to establish dengue fast lanes and establish proper patient referral protocols.

The declaration also allows LGUs to allocate funds for the procurement of essential supplies and services needed for the effective prevention and control of dengue, expand and start a coordinated massive information education and communication strategies con dengue as well as the setting up of operations centers to monitor, assess and recommend immediate strategic action and policy on the dengue situation. (PIABohol)

DENGUE TASK FORCE MEETING. Gov Erico Aristotle Aumentado presides over the Provincial Anti Dengue Task Force meeting to look into the dengue situation in Bohol and possibly recommend possible courses of action. Bohol has 14 deaths by dengue, on its 34th morbidity week, and over 5,000 dengue affected patients. (PIABohol)

PIA chief reminds PIOs of critical role in peace, development

DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental (PIA) — Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Director General, Usec. Jose A. Torres Jr. reminded the public information officers in Central Visayas of their critical role in promoting peace and development in the country.

“Information officers play a very critical role in linking communities, especially when it comes to relaying the right information in the face of conflict, and in promoting the government’s and the various sectors’ reconciliation efforts on the ground,” said Torres during the 26th Regional Association of Development Information Officers in Region 7 (RADIO 7) Convention in Dumaguete City.

“This is our role as peace builders. We play a very important part in promoting peace through our development communication strategies, especially in facilitating dialogues in communities,” he added.

The PIA chief said the Presidential Communications Office, PIA, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity have forged an agreement to effectively disseminate the government’s efforts to promote the understanding of peace and reconciliation in the country.

Torres shared that PIA continues to hold a series of media briefings and public consultations to enhance the media’s understanding of the government’s Localized Peace Engagement and Transformation Program.

“It is our goal to improve the public’s awareness, especially among the grassroots, our communities, to support our peacebuilding and reconciliation initiatives,” he said.

The role of IOs in development

Torres emphasized that every government effort towards development involves information officers.

“We are always there to craft communication strategies that would hopefully boost public awareness. We engage with our communities through various media – radio programs, talk shows, roadshows, caravans, kapihan, kumustahan, and others,” he said.

Torres stressed the role of IOs in communicating the government’s programs and initiatives, saying that it should go beyond information dissemination.

“What makes every government project worthwhile is the human aspect, the human story behind the development, that everyone wants to listen and to share. People love to hear anecdotes, real life narratives of struggle, of love, of joys and sorrows, of achievements and victories,” he explained.

He added that people will better appreciate the government’s programs when government agencies focus on how these initiatives positively impact individuals, families and communities.

Enhancing the impact as PIOs

While he is confident that everyone in the convention is a skilled communicator, Torres shared three key areas that the information officers could focus on to enhance their impact.

This includes leveraging technology to streamline their efforts, understanding the communities they serve, and fostering strong coordination and collaboration with communities, the government and the private sector, and even the international community.

More than 100 PIOs and local government unit tourism officers from Cebu, Negros Oriental, Bohol, and Siquijor gathered in Dumaguete City for the three-day convention.

This year’s event carries the theme “Communicating the Government’s Peace Agenda to Push for Sustainable Tourism Development.”

RADIO-7 is the umbrella organization of five associations of PIOs in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquiijor.

The government information associations organized by the PIA in the provinces take turns in hosting the annual regional convention. (ECB/PIA7 Bohol)

PIA Director-General Jose A. Torres giving his message during the opening of the 26th RADIO-7 Convention held in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental on Sept. 4, 2024. In his message, he reminded the public information officers that their mission is more than just delivering messages; it’s about bridging the gap between the government and the people. (ECB/PIA7-Bohol)